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AR01055_EMAP_Gazetteer_of_Sites_4-2_10.pdf - The Heritage ...

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Meath<br />

St. Anne’s Chapel (Randalstown td.), Co. Meath<br />

Ecclesiastical Settlement<br />

Grid reference: N84137144 (284138/271449)<br />

SMR No: ME025-002<br />

Excavation Licence No: N/A<br />

Excavation Duration/Year: N/A<br />

Site directors: E.P. Kelly (National Museum)<br />

Excavations in advance <strong>of</strong> a development scheme by Tara Mines Ltd. occurred in the vicinity<br />

<strong>of</strong> St. Anne’s holy well and chapel within the townland <strong>of</strong> Randalstown. <strong>The</strong> site was situated<br />

close to the meeting point <strong>of</strong> the Blackwater and Boyne rivers. Further settlement evidence<br />

in the townland consisted <strong>of</strong> two souterrains excavated by Kieran Campbell (1985:044,<br />

1986:065). An early medieval enclosure was also excavated at Simonstown which borders<br />

Randalstown townland to the east (Kelly 1975:033, 1981).<br />

Sections <strong>of</strong> the ecclesiastical enclosure ditch revealed an area measuring approximately 90m<br />

in diameter. <strong>The</strong> ditch was 4m wide and 2m deep. A number <strong>of</strong> internal curvilinear and linear<br />

ditches were identified and at least five early medieval occupation phases were evident.<br />

A cemetery containing at least 20 burials were concentrated in the area around the chapel<br />

and some <strong>of</strong> these were interred during the early middle-ages.<br />

Evidence <strong>of</strong> hearths and pits, which contained animal bone, indicates that occupation<br />

occurred within the ecclesiastical enclosure. <strong>The</strong> wealth <strong>of</strong> the ecclesiastical site and its<br />

inhabitants is attested by a range <strong>of</strong> artefacts including a penannular brooch, two buckles,<br />

fragments <strong>of</strong> ringed pins, decorated mounts and a fragment <strong>of</strong> green glass which may have<br />

come from a sub-Roman Gaulish cosmetic flask. Other indicators <strong>of</strong> foreign contacts and<br />

trade included the presence <strong>of</strong> Late Roman Amphora (B ware) and E ware pottery sherds<br />

and, dating a few centuries earlier, a Roman fibula. Iron slag was also found demonstrating<br />

that ferrous metalworking occurred at Randalstown.<br />

Only a small part <strong>of</strong> the site was excavated – less than a quarter – and St Anne’s was clearly<br />

an affluent and important religious site located at a strategic location close to the point where<br />

the Blackwater and Boyne rivers merge. <strong>The</strong> presence <strong>of</strong> the Roman fibula also suggests a<br />

pre-ecclesiastical settlement element to the site.<br />

(No plans were available for this site).<br />

References:<br />

Campbell, K. 1985:044. Randalstown, Co. Meath. www.excavations.ie.<br />

Campbell, K. 1986:065. Randalstown, Co. Meath. www.exacvations.ie.<br />

Kelly, E. P. 1975:032. Randalstown, Co. Meath. www.excavations.ie.<br />

Kelly, E. P. 1975:033. Simonstown, Co. Meath. www.excavations.ie.<br />

Kelly, E. P. 1976:020. Randalstown, Co. Meath. www.excavations.ie.<br />

Kelly, E. P. 1981. A short study <strong>of</strong> the botanical zones on a ringfort at Simonstown, Co Meath,<br />

used as an aid to the recovery <strong>of</strong> archaeological features, in D. Ó. Corráin (ed.) Irish<br />

Antiquity: Essays and Studies Presented to Pr<strong>of</strong>essor M.J. O'Kelly, 67–77. Dublin. Four Courts<br />

Press.<br />

587

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